Javelin thrower named scholar athlete of the year
Sam Roller earned his undergraduate degree from NDSU last year with a 4.0 GPA majoring in biological sciences.
NDSU men’s track and field athlete Sam Roller has been selected as the 2024-25 Daktronics Summit League Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year across all sports.
The Summit League Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is the most prestigious individual honor given by the league each season. It is awarded by a vote of the league’s faculty athletics representatives.
Roller’s award marks the 10th time in NDSU history that a Bison has claimed The Summit League’s top honor. It’s the fifth time NDSU has earned the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year – the most in league history – with Roller joining Elliott Stone (2018-19), Tim Colwell (2013-14), and two-time winner Brett Winkelman (2007-08, 2008-09).
Roller, from Thompson, North Dakota, was named the NCAA Elite 90 Award winner for 2025 men’s outdoor track & field as the single student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. He earned his degree from NDSU with a 4.0 GPA majoring in biological sciences.
The Summit League champion in the javelin, Roller was named to the CSC Academic All-America second team following the season. He also earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors and two Summit League Academic All-League accolades in his career.